There have in the past been provided many devices to hold the zero end of a measuring tape in a fixed position so that one person can make various measurements without the need for a helper to hold the tape in position. Such devices are particularly useful for contractors, surveyors, and other types of professional and trade people but can also be used by the homeowner for various projects around the home.
Some of these devices are capable of holding the end of the tape while swinging a measured arc while hand holding the tape housing.
One such device is disclosed in the Lynde, U.S. Pat. No. 3,662,471, issued May 16, 1972, which shows a cast iron block 10 with a hook-eye 14 at one end and a hook 13 at the other end. The block hook is designed, as seen in FIG. 7, to hold a loop-type tape and the hook-eye 14 as shown in FIG. 5, is adapted to hold a hook-type tape end. The bottom of the block 12 is bonded to a piece of foam material 15 for the purpose of frictionally engaging the ground or floor to hold the device from sliding. The foam 15 is a problem because it permits the block to shift slightly while the tape is pulled even without the lower surface of the foam 15 sliding simply by the lateral deformation of the foam. Another problem with this design is that the block 12 is usually positioned between the mark, such as the vertical wall, at the beginning of the tape so that compensation is required to make measurements. Lynde attempts to solve this problem in FIGS. 8 and 9 with a slotted bottom in the foam, but this embodiment is suggested only for use with a chalk line and not with a tape. Furthermore, it is difficult to determine how the tape can be bent around in the fashion shown with the chalk line 27 in FIGS. 8 and 9 without causing either damage to the tape or again requiring some measurement compensation.
The tape line shown in the Rand, U.S. Pat. No. 1,290,350, issued Jan. 17, 1919, discloses using a pointed member, but it is in fact a screw assembly that is pivotal directly to the tape so that it is not an after-market item. The screw also must be threaded into the floor or ground, and in some applications this could be unsuitable.
The same deficiency is found in the Di Tomasso, U.S. Pat. No. 1,542,990, issued Nov. 22, 1923, because the tooth or spur 12 must be driven into the work to hold the tape end in position.
The Morrison, U.S. Pat. No. 3,145,477, issued Aug. 25, 1964, and the Martin, U.S. Pat. No. 4,353,167, issued Oct. 12, 1982, show magnet-type end holders that require measurement compensation.
The Drew, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 2,711,030, issued Apr. 19, 1955, shows a suction cup tape end holder, and the Berkovic, U.S. Pat. No. 2,686,366, issued Aug. 17, 1954, shows a tape end holder that is designed specifically for clothing.
The Shields, U.S. Pat. No. 4,999,924, issued Mar. 19, 1991, shows a tape device that is not in fact a tape holder at all. In Shields, the tape is held in position against the work by tape hook 5 when the two part block member that receives the tape is not for the purpose of holding the tape in position at all, but for the purpose of making repeated measurement marks a fixed distance from the tape hook 5. That is, the two part block 3 and 4 is clamped around the tape in a position so the surface 6A is the distance desired to be marked from the tape end 5. The worker then positions the tape hook 5 over the starting position and then whacks surface 11 with a hammer causing blade 6 to mark and groove the workpiece at the desired marking location. Thus, this is not a tape end holder at all and is, therefore, not relevant.
Other patents that show tape end holders include the Buhler, U.S. Pat. No. 5,214,859, issued Jun. 1, 1993; the Knapp, U.S. Pat. No. 5,010,657, issued Apr. 30, 1991; and the Hanson, U.S. Pat. No. 3,834,030, issued Sep. 10, 1974.
The Waldherr, U.S. Pat. No. 5,172,486, cited by the Examiner in my co-pending patent application, U.S. Ser. No. 08/759,194, Filed: Dec. 5, 1996, entitled "MEASURING TAPE HOLDING SYSTEM" and in the Background of the Invention in this application, discloses a fixture 70 preferably constructed from a single piece of plastic forming the body 71 having a base 72 with a rectangularly shaped central opening 73 with a rear edge 74 and a front edge 74a, in which a slot 75 is cut on one edge thereof. A retaining member 76 is vertically spaced from the surface of the base 72 and overlies the opening 73 and is connected thereto by a rear or connecting wall 77, which is vertically upstanding from the base 72.
The forward end of the tape 50 has a tab 51 that fits into a recess 82 shown in FIG. 7. A slot 75 is provided that can receive a nail 115, presumably for the purpose of holding the fixture 70 and permitting arcuate lines to be scribed on a work piece.
One disadvantage in the Waldherr construction is that it is difficult to attach the tab to the fixture 70 because it has to be threaded through the fixture and the tape actually bends upwardly. This requires holding the fixture in one hand and the tape end in the other hand, which is a cumbersome process and one that leads to delays in completing the measuring task at hand.
The Currie, U.S. Pat. No. 1,408,347, shows a spring biased pointer 14 that impales the work and defines the pivot point, but the Currie device requires a loop-type end at the end of the holder.
The Brennan, U.S. Pat. No. 2,549,287, is extremely complicated and is not practical.
The Drew, et al., U.S. Pat. No. 2,711,030, holder utilizes a suction cup with an upper pivot assembly and does not appear to be useable with a tab type tape end.
The Hipple, U.S. Pat. No. 1,786,845, and the Sell, U.S. Pat. No. 1,439,645, and the Di Tomasso, U.S. Pat. No. 1,542,990, all show work piece impaling devices permitting arcuate motion, but none appears useable with a tab-type tape end.
The same deficiencies are found in the Anderson, U.S. Pat. No. 1,248,435, and the Schmidt, U.S. Pat. No. 882,022.
The Langsner, U.S. Pat. No. 1,726,960; the Martin, U.S. Pat. No. 370,636, and the other Langsner, U.S. Pat. No. 1,798,476, all show work piece impaling tape holders, but they are not capable of drawing arcuate arcs because they include more than one work piece impaling element, which would, of course, prevent pivotal motion.
In my U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/759,194, a system was provided for holding fast the zero end of a measuring tape to eliminate the need for a helper and permit a wide variety of measurements to be made by a single person. That measuring tape holding system includes a generally triangular body with three downwardly projecting legs that take the form of threaded screws with hardened cone points, one of which holds the tape end by engaging a notch in the tape eye of ring. The tape holding thumb screw is located at a narrow pointed end of the body and its conical end holds the measuring tape loop either directly against a vertical wall or at the juncture of two vertical walls that enable measurements to be taken directly form the wall or corner without adding the length of the holding device as required in many of the holding devices described above in the Background of this Invention. The pointed ends of the screws can also hold a tape in position and permit the user to rotate the tape to swing arcs and find diagonals. That system can also be utilized to hold a snap line or dry line at a pre-determined location to eliminate the need for a helper in that situation. Furthermore, by utilizing two of these devices at each end of a snap line or dry line, a single person can accomplish line snapping without any helpers whatsoever.
While my prior tape holder can be utilized for swinging arcs, a simpler and low-cost item can be provided to effect the more limited function of swinging arcs.
It is a primary object of the present invention to ameliorate the problems noted above in measuring tape end holding devices and to provide a simplified tape holder principally for swinging arcs with the tape.